V
P o rtla n d , O regon
INSIDE:
Creator of
"talkapella" Zoa
Smith profiled
page 26
Impact:
A ID S
The Portland Gay
Men's Chorus reflects a
microcosm of the effect
of AIDS on a culture
and a community
by Matt Bailey
:
-.*4
Wm
Richard Brown and Philip Anderson on their San Francisco honeymoon.
t 43, Philip was experiencing
more of life’s downside than
had many people twice his age.
Only days before, his lover of
10 years, Richard Brown, 45,
had died from AIDS.
Philip and Richard had both been di
agnosed with AIDS in 1988. Now,
Philip was down to 116 pounds from his
normal, muscled, 135. His hair was thin
from chemotherapy, and opium treat
ments caused him to be intermittently
drowsy.
Despite the tragedy surrounding him,
Philip spoke fondly and articulately
about the 10 years he had been in the
baritone section of the Portland Gay
Men’s Chorus when two friends from
the chorus came to visit him in the hos
pital.
“I’m proud to be a part of the chorus,”
he said. “I feel I have made a real con
tribution to myself, to my friends in the
chorus, to other people in the gay com
munity, and to all of Portland.”
After a few minutes, Philip got sleepy
and the visitors stood up, hugged him
again, and said their goodbyes. They
stepped out into the hallway and slowly
closed the door to his room. Lost in
their own thoughts, they silently made
their way down the elevator, through the
lobby, and out into the sunshine.
It was July 9, 1991. On July 21,1991,
Philip became the 25th member o f the
Portland Gay Men's Chorus to die of
AIDS-related causes.
(Seepage 16 )